Lab-Grown Lungs

I was in the eye doctor’s off last week with nothing to read. I picked up an old Time Magazine dated November 22, 2010. This issued featured “The 50 Best Inventions of the Year.” I was so surprised while flipping through this section to discover that one of their named inventions was “Lab-Grown Lungs.” Yes, lungs. There was even a photo - see above. A copy of the article is here: http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2029497_2030617_2029715,00.html

We first discussed this possibility in my blog dated Monday, October 11, 2010 if you want further background information.

It is amazing to see a photo of a rat’s lung that has been grown in the lab. The hope is that one day a person will have lung cells removed, new lungs will be grown in a lab using those cells then those new lungs will be transplanted back into the same person. There would be no need for anti-rejection drugs because the cells are not from a foreign body.

Simply brilliant!

How soon will we see this in humans? If all the trials go well and the technology and the science holds up, maybe in our children’s lifetime. Or their children. In any event, it is forward movement to new science frontier.